The Lama Director: Khyentse Norbu's Films as Modern Thangka
Khyentse Norbu is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher, author, and filmmaker whose creative output includes five feature films directed since 1999. Among these are "World Cup on the High Mountain", "Traveler and Magician", "Vara: Prayer", and "Hey Ma Hey Ma", all of which have earned considerable praise and been shown at numerous prestigious international film festivals. His most recent film, "In Search of Her with Fangs and Beard", likewise appeared in many overseas cinematic showcases during the preceding year. Through his filmmaking, Khyentse Norbu offers a profound and subtle engagement with Buddhist philosophical ideas and spiritual practice.
Regarded as one of the most creatively innovative Tibetan Buddhist teachers today, he also advocates for the Rimé movement. After training under several of the 20th century's most eminent Tibetan Buddhist masters, he has taught Buddhism across all five continents. His books, such as "Right View", "Not Just for Happiness", and "Eighty-Four Thousand Questions", have achieved widespread resonance and acclaim internationally.
Khyentse Norbu regards movies as a tool, a medium, a language, and a communication device, which can be used both to deepen practice and to help people interested in spiritual cultivation. As the world's first 'lama director,' he was a consultant on Bernardo Bertolucci's 'Little Buddha,' and his own directorial debut, 'The World Cup on the Mountain,' appeared in 1999 to critical praise. To date, he has directed five films. Quentin Tarantino's shooting location.
With pure motivation, films can be a way to assist others. In Buddhist history, visual arts such as sculptures and paintings have been encouraged rather than suppressed. Khyentse Norbu said that although he had studied film in London, it was only after watching Vittorio's 'Bicycle Thieves' that he started considering making his own movies.
Bertolucci, who directed 'The Little Buddha', served as a major source of inspiration for me. What struck me most was his poetic and visually compelling way of portraying humanity's authentic face, which left a deep impression on my own approach. In my view, cinema carries a profound spiritual dimension; it operates as a language and a means of connecting with others. Turning to the five-film collection of Khyentse Norbu, the introduction explains that "The World Cup on the High Mountains" is based on actual events, with monks serving as the actors and filming undertaken inside the temple.
Inside the little Lama's house, a wall covered with pictures of soccer stars appears in a still photo. The film, set amid the remote mountains of India during the 1998 World Cup in France, tells of a young monk who is passionately devoted to watching the tournament. Confronted with the temple's strict discipline, his enthusiasm for football only serves to underscore people's 'obsession' with a specific pursuit.
Through a humorous and witty approach to storytelling, the director portrays the tension between worldly life and monastic existence, aiming to reveal the suffering caused by "ignorance" and "attachment". The young lama, racked with guilt over renting a television to watch the World Cup inside the monastery, asks the Tibetan Nima to sell his mother’s pocket watch to an Indian merchant. As they view the matches, a profound sadness wells up in Nima, which stirs the lama’s guilt and unease, ultimately reigniting his sense of compassion.
In Travellers and Magicians (2003), a Buddhist-themed film shot in Bhutan, the cast consists entirely of local Bhutanese performers. Regarding this work, Khyentse Norbu remarked, "Although some people think that 'The World Cup on the High Mountain' is a Buddhist film, personally I believe this film is more about the story of human obsession and growth." Through his filmmaking, Khyentse Norbu offers an interpretation of human nature and helps beings free themselves from their attachments.
A young village official named Dondop, weary of rural life, sets off for the United States. While waiting nervously for a bus, he encounters a monk who recounts a legend about a distant land, and the film shifts back and forth between Dondop's voyage and that tale. As the trip unfolds, a young girl joins him, and his anxious waiting is replaced by a growing fascination with her. Khyentse Norbu once remarked in an interview, "This is a story about change.
Compared with the first film, this one contains more Buddhist elements. It deals with cultural, national, and personal transformation. In search of better prospects, young Bhutanese aspire to reach a 'dream land.' People often think the grass is greener on the other side and hold a romantic fantasy about that place of dreams—yet perhaps the dream land is right here.
Khyentse Norbu's third feature film, "VARA: Blessing," derives its Sanskrit title from a term meaning "gift" or "protection." In contrast to his first two films, this one centers on an Indian theme. It is adapted from Sunil Gangopadhyay's novel "Blood and Tears," and its cast includes Imran Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Shahana Goswami, Mamatha Bhukya, and Padmapriya Janakiraman. Additionally, the movie explores 'obsession' and 'fleeting beauty'—similar to cherry blossoms, whose brief blooming is precisely why they are beautiful.
Shot across Sri Lanka and South India, the film follows a beautiful young Hindu temple dancer who falls in love with a low-caste sculptor in a remote village, going to great lengths to shield her unborn child. In terms of style, the picture bursts with lively energy through its vivid color palette and superb cinematography, with Bradford Young's award-winning visual effects and the musical score by Indo-British musician Nitin Sawhney seamlessly woven into the film's dance and dramatic flow.
Rinpoche has long been an admirer of Purohito dance, Carnatic music (a musical tradition rooted in the ancient Sama Vedas), and Jaya Deva's "Gita Govinda." Consequently, the director faces a real challenge with this film, which tackles complex subjects like the caste system and Purohito dance—a highly mystical, profound, vast, and infinite spiritual dance. "Because it is made in local languages, the film may become boring and commercially fail.
However, I am very nervous because it is different, with actors from Bollywood and some independent actors. All of this makes me extremely nervous, I can no longer use 'Rinpoche's dictatorship'," said director Khyentse Norbu with a laugh. In 2016, the fourth feature film "Hey Ma Hey Ma" by director Chin Tse-Nup — also known as Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait (2016) — was inspired by modern social networking. To film it, Khyentse Norbu specifically immersed himself in the virtual world of online social networking.
In Dzongkha, the phrase "Hey Ma Hey Ma" translates to "a long time ago." The narrative is set in a Himalayan foothill forest, where a clandestine ceremony takes place once every twelve years. Those chosen don masks, setting aside their worldly selves to undergo a surreal, two-week retreat. Throughout this period, they probe the line separating reality from illusion, and individuals carrying secret desires are drawn into temptation while concealed beneath their masks.
Zhou Xun and Tony Leung, both well-known Chinese actors, were invited to appear in the film without any payment. In an interview, Khyentse Norbu described the movie as being about 'cause and effect,' likening it to a volcanic eruption where one action invariably produces another result. He also remarked that the masked male protagonist starts to feel torment after carrying out certain deeds, and a single misstep sets off a chain of karmic repercussions.
Xie Fei, the fourth-generation director, also gave it high praise: "I had long heard about this 'lama director,' known as the world's finest storyteller. The Tibetan culture I hold dear is rendered by him in a highly distinctive way, and the audiovisuals creatively weave in the profound philosophical ideas of Buddhism.
In Khyentse Norbu's fifth film, a young Tibetan entrepreneur named Danzeng is determined to establish the finest coffee shop in Nepal. While he dedicates himself fully to this aspiration, he suddenly finds himself tormented by persistent, unsettling nightmares and hallucinations. Through the seamless integration of national music, dance, rituals, Buddhist spirituality, modern society, the virtual world, and authentic human nature, the director's remarkable talent is evident.
His friends and prophets warn him that these signs foreshadow his imminent death. Spiritual advisors and ancient scriptures likewise counsel that his sole chance to survive is to find a woman referred to as a "special woman"—the Dakini. Accordingly, Danzeng sets off in search of this "unique female," a journey that forces him to directly confront his own paranoia and fears.
The cinematography of Li Pingbin, who previously worked on "In the Mood for Love," lends a dreamlike quality that deepens the film's sense of mystery. At the same time, the movie addresses the clash between traditional beliefs and modern civilization.
Khyentse Norbu said: "This film represents my effort to discover the final remnants of Tibetan mysticism in a world that is increasingly mechanized and automated, stands on the brink of creating artificial intelligence, and rejects superstition. I do so because it closely links the modern and ancient worlds, and I believe this ancient wisdom, which mirrors the Buddhist view of reality, holds great importance for our modern age.
Khyentse Norbu's works have been consistently celebrated at major international film festivals, earning both acclaim and awards for their extraordinary energy and profound humanistic depth, much like a refreshing current. "In these turbulent times, honoring feminine energy is essential, and I plan to use this film to share certain traditional approaches to channeling that energy," the filmmaker explains.
Khyentse Norbu has long aspired to create a film about the Buddha, and we eagerly await the moment this remarkable art reaches the public. He once stated that cinema could be viewed as a contemporary form of Thangka.